06-02-07 - A New Peril from the East? the Center for Security Policy charges that Beijing's goal is "to displace this country as the world's leading economic power and to defeat us militarily, if necessary." Clinton H. Whitehurst, Jr., of the Strom Thurmond Institute, says "conflict is likely."

06-02-07 - The Lady and the Veep ** news-week has learned that the veep's team seems eager to build a case that Iran is targeting Americans not just in Iraq but along the border of its other neighbor, Afghanistan. In the last few weeks, Cheney's staff have unexpectedly become more active participants in an interagency group that steers policy on Afghanistan, according to an official familiar with the internal deliberations. During weekly meetings of the committee, known as the Afghanistan Interagency Operating Group, Cheney staffers have been intensely interested in a single issue: recent intelligence reports alleging that Iran is supplying weapons to Afghanistan's resurgent Islamist militia, the Taliban, according to two administration officials who asked for anonymity when discussing internal meetings......British officials who asked for anonymity because of the nature of their work emphasize that they lack hard evidence linking the shipments to the Revolutionary Guards, and that the weapons could just as easily have been bought on the black market in Iran. But according to one official familiar with the intelligence on Iranian interference in Iraq, Cheney earlier this year began exhibiting particular interest in any evidence detailing Tehran's aid to anti-American insurgents there Cheney is looking to build a case for war.

06-02-07 - Making Iran our friend abandoning regime change in Iran is the surest way to ensure the regime's collapse. This is because, contrary to widespread perception, Iran is already a democracy. It's just not a very successful one.

06-02-07 - 'Israel doesn't want to bail Assad out' According to the officials, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert continues to believe the Syrian regime is not genuinely interested in peace, but rather in a peace process that would improve its international standing.

First they try to say that the US is blocking them from making peace with Syria, now they're saying, 'Well, they don't really want peace anyway'. Excuses, excuses.

06-02-07 - 'The Times Are Different' With 19 months left in her term as secretary of State, Rice has no major deal to her credit. What can she accomplish now? Rice could accomplish much if she told Israel and its lobby in the US to go f itself, guaranteed. The whole world would stand up and applaud - to boot. America's image would be restored almost to what it once was.

06-02-07 - Bush to revive democracy agenda at Sharansky event National Security Adviser Steve Hadley said Friday that Bush remained committed to the freedom agenda and wanted to use the Prague event to renew his call for others to join him. Bush's (got it from neocons/Israelis such as Sharansky)'democracy' defined: bomb the hell out of a country, and install America/Israel-friendly regime. All of this talk about bringing 'freedom' to Middle Eastern peoples is utter hypocrisy when we continue to allow Israel to deprive Palestinians thereof.